


Charlotte Angst

by ChillyHollow



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: Gen, Undercover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23461201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChillyHollow/pseuds/ChillyHollow
Summary: What does Charlotte want and will Robin give it to her?
Relationships: Charlotte Campbell Ross/Cormoran Strike, Robin Ellacott/Cormoran Strike
Comments: 11
Kudos: 25
Collections: The Cormoran Strike Fest of Firsts





	1. Dread

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Barb+Nikola](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Barb%2BNikola).



> For Barb+Nikola and in response to the Fest of Firsts Challenge--Villains

Robin was picking up lunch sandwiches down the street from the office when she noticed the limousine pulling up in front of the office.A chauffeur opened the rear door and a woman stepped out.It had been at least a year since she’d seen Charlotte Campbell Ross, but she would know that elegant figure anywhere, even from a distance.Robin stood, petrified, as Mrs. Ross opened their office’s exterior door and disappeared through it.

She checked her watch as the limousine silently pulled away, then stood thinking.She wasn’t due back at the office for another forty-five minutes, so grabbing her bag of sandwiches, she headed down the street for the little coffee shop where she grabbed a latte and settled in with her laptop open, ready to do a little research.

It didn’t take her long to dig out the latest on Charlotte who had been a gossip column favorite since she was a teenager.The daughter of an academic who also dabbled as a broadcaster and an often divorced social beauty, she had married the Viscount of Croy’s heir over a year earlier and had just given birth to twins.The gossip columns said their marriage was on the rocks.Jago Ross had two girls from his first marriage and supposedly had a drinking problem.Charlotte herself was described as “high strung.”Since Robin had seen the aftermath of Charlotte’s fight with her partner when he broke up with her, she considered that an understatement.

Charlotte had been out on the town at the hottest Belgravia restaurants or at a series of Mayfair clubs with a variety of male escorts recently, but none seemed to be a steady thing.Hello!, Ok and CelebsNow, not to mention the Mirror, were all breathlessly cataloguing her every move.Robin had to admit she looked fabulous, not as if she had given birth only three months before.She didn’t look ten years older than Robin, either, but she was. 

Fortunately Strike wasn’t alone in the office.The temporary secretary they had brought in to help catch up on paperwork was there and Sam should be arriving shortly if he wasn’t there already.Robin frowned and thought.It was possible that Mrs. Ross wanted something other than her old lover back.If she wanted out of her marriage to the Right Honorable…

Of course wanting Strike back and an end to her marriage weren’t incompatible goals.Well, it was time to go find out what Charlotte wanted.Robin shut down the laptop, put it in her tote bag, collected the sandwiches and headed toward her office.


	2. The New Client

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Charlotte Wants

When Robin arrived back at the office, Trudy and Sam were sitting unspeaking, looking at Strike’s closed office door.Robin put the sandwiches on the little kitchen nook’s counter, and hung up her coat while greeting the temp and their part-time investigator.She gave them their sandwiches and Trudy blurted out, “We have company.” 

“Oh, yes?” Robin said casually.“Who?”

“Charlotte Campbell Ross,” said Sam dramatically, and rolled his eyes.Robin smiled.“What does she want?”

“Don’t know, do I?She swanned in here like she owns the place and made a beeline for Strike.He took her into his office and closed the door.”

Trudy added, “He did say to send you in when you arrived.” 

“Ok,” Robin added and attempting to be casual, picked up a pen and a new notebook, and knocked on Cormoran’s door.When he said, “Come in,” she opened the door, and fixing a pleasant smile on her face, stepped in to face the dragon.

Strike was sitting at his desk, smoking.The dragon was perched on the visitor’s chair, her legs crossed to show what Robin thought was a little too much thigh.She had to admit it was a great show, though.Charlotte was in a green tailored suit with a sable collar that made her eyes even greener.Strike looked impassive.“Ah, Robin, thanks for joining us.This is Charlotte Ross.”

Robin nodded and pulled up a chair on Strike’s right so that she was facing their guest.“How do you do?”Charlotte looked at her frowning.Robin was sure Charlotte didn’t want Robin to break up her tete-a-tete with her former lover.This impression was confirmed when Charlotte asked with an adorable pout, “Bluey, can’t this just be between us?”

“Robin’s my partner and a great investigator, Charlotte.If you want our help, she needs to be brought into the picture.Why don’t you tell Robin what you just told me?”

Charlotte looked like she was about to balk, so Robin, mindful of the agency’s bank account, gave her a friendly look and asked, “What can we do for you?”

“My husband is cheating on me!” Charlotte blurted out.“I need confirmation so I can seek a divorce.”She sounded outraged.Robin reflected that most folks would be hurt and upset if they thought their spouse was cheating on them, but that being outraged as if this was breaking a rule of nature was a little much.Of course most folks were not as gorgeous as Charlotte Campbell Ross.She supposed that it must seem amazing to one such as Charlotte to have their husband step out on them. 

“Why do you think he’s cheating, Mrs. Ross?”Robin looked into those big apple green eyes, willing herself to appear helpful and sympathetic.

“Because I was on bed rest before the twins were born, forbidden to have sex, for three months.After they were born, he was no longer very interested in me.I think he found someone else during that time.” 

“Do you have any idea where he might have met someone?”

“Work probably.”

“Not your staff perhaps?Or among your social circle?”

“No, the staff is all elderly and most have been with his family for decades.The only new people are my maid and the nanny, both of whom I chose, and both in their fifties.Jago would certainly look for someone younger.If he was sleeping with one of our friends, I would have heard about it.People love to gossip and everyone in the world would know.The only pool of younger women available to him regularly who wouldn’t stir up notice are at his job in London.” 

Robin decided this was a good assessment of the situation and wrote down the name and address of Jago’s firm, then asked what the firm did.“Investment banking,” was the unhelpful answer. 

Robin said she would look into this for her.Charlotte pouted again, “Why you?Why not Cormoran?” 

Robin was firm.“If we find any evidence that your husband is cheating with a work colleague for a divorce proceeding, how do you think it would look if your former fiancé was directly involved in finding that evidence, Mrs. Ross?It’s better if I do this as I don’t have any personal stake in the outcome.Plus the best way to investigate your husband at his job is from the inside.I can easily get a job as a PA or an associate.”Robin continued, laying out the costs for such an investigation, explaining the likely time it would take to investigate fully, and setting up a way to contact Charlotte without tipping off anyone that a call or an email was from anyone other than a social acquaintance. 

Charlotte agreed to Robin’s terms and wrote out a check she handed to Cormoran, who rose to take it and then pass it along to Robin.Charlotte looked balky briefly, then smiled thinly and told Cormoran, “I take it she is more than just a pretty girl?”

“Much more,” was his answer.“She will do an excellent job for you.If Jago’s cheating, Robin will find out.”

Charlotte’s eyes briefly swam with tears as she rose and shook Robin’s hand, then turned to Cormoran to take his.When he reached for it she stepped close and kissed his cheek, whispering huskily (and somewhat theatrically, Robin thought), “I’m counting on you, Bluey.”

Then she turned and was gone. 

Cormoran sighed and sat down.“Thanks, Robin.We can use the money but I never was so glad to see you come back to the office.”Robin smiled, feeling better than she had all morning.


	3. Robin Undercover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin goes undercover at an investment bank  
> (My apologies to Credit Suisse)

The following day Robin found herself at the human resources offices of Credit Suisse, interviewing for a job at the Cabot Square offices where Jago Ross also worked.She’d been very careful with her looks this morning, trying to find a balance between youthful and attractive without being flashy or standing out in any way.She’d put a brown rinse on her hair and was wearing brown contact lenses, a somewhat outdated suit and heels that weren’t very high.She wore very little makeup and had her hair in a pony tail as that made her look younger than she really was.Her resume was equally crafted to show some experience in a private bank but not so much that she’d qualify for a Personal Assistant job.She knew through her temp jobs in the past that the best gossip came from the lower levels of the clerical staff.The higher up PAs were often too loyal to their boss or bosses to talk about them. 

She got the job, of course, and was supposed to start the next day.She headed back to the office to report to Strike and see if there was anything she needed to hand off to their staffers or Strike himself.Their temp, Trudy, didn’t recognize Robin at first, which Robin chalked up to a success since Trudy was fairly observant.Strike naturally knew her right away but he gave her a thumbs up gesture from his office where he was on the phone.Robin was happy to gain his approval.She headed home with a nice bounce to her step, already planning her strategy for the next day. 

It took Robin three days to gain enough insight into Credit Suisse to start to narrow down the candidates for a possible affair with Jago Ross.His own PA she ruled out from the beginning.She was a middle-aged woman with a third child on the way who appeared to have a real dedication to the firm and a fast typing speed but not much else.Robin also noted that all the individual offices had glass walls.It wasn’t going to be possible for someone having an affair with a co-worker to be able to consummate their passion in their own office.That left only the conference rooms. 

These were all windowless spaces in the center of the tower block.They were reserved for conference calls, client meetings, and occasionally luncheons.She wondered if a Managing Director like Ross could arrange for one for his personal use.She’d already noticed that the clerical staffers often stocked a conference room with coffees, sandwiches, files, etc. in preparation for meetings.Very few of the managing directors were female, and all of them appeared to be in their forties, so it was more likely if Ross were having an affair it would be with a subordinate.Ross and a lower level staffer could certainly have private time together in a conference room, especially if he’d told his PA to hold his calls.No one would question staffers going into a conference room and no one would open the closed door to that conference room unless an emergency phone call came through.It simply wasn’t done. 

Robin decided it was incumbent on her to get to know Ross’ PA, so at lunch she bumped into the woman accidentally-on-purpose, apologized and fell into conversation with her.They ended up having lunch together and Robin listened as she heard about Jill’s upcoming baby, and how Jill hoped it wouldn’t be early as she’d arranged for another secretary to cover for her but only starting in two weeks.Robin asked how she coped when there were prenatal visits.Jill said that the floor receptionist helped her out. 

Each floor had a receptionist on duty at the desk near the elevators.They were responsible for guiding visitors to the proper office, picking up lunches for busy staffers, delivering coffee and tea to meetings when required and sometimes did double-duty copying reports and delivering faxes.The receptionist on Ross’ floor was a younger woman named Betsy.She wore short skirts, high heels, and a little too much makeup.Robin started to cultivate Betsy, just to see what insight she could offer on Ross. 

At first she didn’t get much of anywhere.Betsy was not really interested in anything except men.She didn’t socialize with the clerical staff but spent her time hanging around the interns who were mostly young men on leave from university for a year getting finance experience.So Robin took another tack and started giving Betsy small jobs that took her away from the reception desk.Betsy liked that.Sitting at a desk all day didn’t give her much scope for flirting.Robin managed to get Betsy to open up a bit about Ross when they were copying, collating and stapling a big presentation together. 

Betsy said he was ok, but something about the way she said it raised warning flags in Robin’s mind.“Are you going to take Jill’s place while she’s on maternity leave after her baby is born?” she asked.“She told me you help out when she has an appointment with her doctor.”

“Oh, no,” said Betsy with a smug smile.“I just help Jago when he’s preparing for a big client meeting, getting his reports together you know.” 

Robin noticed that Betsy called Ross by his first name.She said nothing else, just resolved to keep an eye on conference room scheduling for the next couple of days.Sure enough, Ross had signed up for Conference Room B for next Monday, which happened to be a day Jill was going to be gone for a prenatal conference with her doctor.Robin managed to sneak a peak at Conference Room B later that day.It held a big conference table with chairs and a closet in the back where extra chairs, annual reports and spare office supplies were kept, plus a credenza where water, food and coffee and tea things were laid out when the room was in use. 

At lunch she called Strike and asked him to get a small spy camera ready for her to pick up.Checking the brand of tea bags that the Credit Suisse office stocked, she picked up a box after work on her way to Denmark Street.There with Strike’s help, she cut a tiny hole in the box and made a fake bottom so that the camera rested under a pile of tea bags.Then they tested the camera to make sure it turned itself on when there was movement in the area.Satisfied, she and Strike smiled at each other and headed to the Tottenham to celebrate.


	4. Surveillance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Robin Discovers

Monday morning Robin took a deep breath then casually walked into Conference Room B with her doctored box of tea bags.She replaced the box already on the credenza with her box, then strolled out of the conference room again.Jago Ross didn’t have the room booked until 11 a.m. so she spent the next couple of hours working on a presentation for the bullpen. The next time she passed the reception desk she saw Betsy leaving the area for the ladies room.Betsy returned in five minutes with freshened lipstick and combed hair, then headed for the elevators.

Robin picked up a stack of freshly printed prospectuses, and pretended to be taking them toward Conference Room A, conveniently located near the meeting room Jago Ross had booked.Betsy appeared from the elevators, pushing a rolling cart with coffee, hot tea water and fresh pastries.She headed into Conference Room B with her treats.She left the door partly open so Robin could see her arranging the drink carafes on the credenza.After a few minutes she exited again, pushing the empty cart in front of her.She took her cart to the elevator area and parked it, then detoured by her reception desk and picked up a stack of folders and papers, returning to Conference Room B with them.Just before 11 a.m. Jago Ross entered the conference room with his laptop and briefcase, shutting the door behind him.Betsy remained inside the conference room. 

Robin waited.And waited.Betsy didn’t leave the conference room until nearly noon, and she appeared to be smoothing her hair as she left.Ross himself strolled out a few minutes later, briefcase and laptop in his hand, leaving the door open.Robin noticed there were two cups of tea, one with lipstick, on the conference table and a dint in the pastries.She slipped inside with her real box of tea bags and switched it back, hiding the fake bag in the bottom of her tote. 

Quitting time seemed to be taking forever to arrive but finally Robin, who had kept herself busy with a big mailing for clients, was able to leave work, tote bag with its precious tea bag box cargo in her hand.Strike, whom she’d texted, was waiting for her in the office.Together they downloaded the camera’s video into his laptop and sat behind his desk, Robin in a chair she had pulled up close to him, and watched it play. 

The first bit of the video showed Robin herself arranging the box of tea bags on the credenza.Then Betsy appeared with her tea cart, putting the hot water and coffee jugs next to the box of tea bags along with napkins and plates of donuts and croissants.She left, but returned with a stack of papers and file folders she arranged at one end of the conference table.Then she sat in a chair motionless until Ross himself entered the room.Betsy stood and took his laptop from him.Ross settled his briefcase on a chair and with one hand started to undo his belt and unzip his fly while with the other he pulled Betsy toward him.She wiggled out of his grasp just long enough to yank down her underwear, then she sat on the edge of the conference table so he could easily penetrate her.As far as Robin could tell, neither said anything to each other except at one point Ross told her, “Over.”Betsy obediently bent over the desk, her back to Ross, and he fucked her from behind until he came.Then she passed him a napkin to wipe himself, retrieved her panties and put them back on, and poured them both a cup of tea.Ross ate a pastry.They exited a few minutes apart, their physical needs satisfied, without saying anything to each other.

Robin and Strike looked at each other.“Pretty cold blooded, don’t you think?”

Robin nodded.“No romance there.It also appears that this is a routine thing between them.Wouldn’t you think if you were beginning an affair with someone at work you would have a little foreplay at first?” 

Strike said, “It looks like a long-time thing between them to me, too.”He sighed.“Better let the client know.”Robin nodded and picked up her phone and sent a text asking Charlotte if she would be free for drinks after work tomorrow using the agreed-upon pseudonym.She got a rapid reply asking if they could do lunch instead?Robin agreed to that and resolved to call in work with a doctor’s appointment tomorrow morning so she could make the meeting but preserve her cover in case she had to continue surveillance on Jago Ross. 


	5. Formidable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end result

Tuesday morning had Robin, in character as a clerical worker in an investment bank, at the office.She was behind her desk, Trudy being busy with the laptop on the sofa, whenCharlotte arrived.As usual, Charlotte’s hair, makeup and clothing were flawless.She was in a pants suit with fabulous heels, an expensive crocodile Birkin bag and gold braided jewelry as accessories.Robin felt even dowdier than usual in comparison, especially with her drab hair color and ill-fitting cheap suit.But she did have the satisfaction of seeing the surprise in Charlotte’s eyes when she rose to greet her client when Charlotte realized the secretary behind the desk was actually Robin. 

“Let’s go into the inner office,” Robin suggested, letting Charlotte proceed her into Strike’s empty lair. 

“Where’s Bluey?” Charlotte asked.

“He’s out on surveillance,” Robin answered.“Please sit down.” 

Charlotte did so, crossing her fabulous legs.“What do you have for me?”In answer, Robin pulled a USB stick out of her suit pocket, inserted it in Strike’s laptop, and turned the screen so Charlotte could see what Robin had taped in Conference Room B.Charlotte watched it in silence from beginning to end.

“How did you get that?” she asked. 

“I work at Credit Suisse now.After a few days there, I was able to narrow down a possible tryst location and candidate and used this to confirm my suspicions.”Robin opened the top drawer of Strike’s desk and took out the doctored box of tea bags, showing Charlotte the tiny camera hidden in the base.Charlotte’s mouth was a thin line as she looked at Robin.

“Clever.I underestimated you.That getup is a good disguise, by the way.No one would notice a secretary dressed like you are today.”

“The clothes make the man,” quoted Robin quietly. 

“Indeed,” was Charlotte’s answer.

“Is that all you need?” Robin asked her client.“I don’t plan to return to Credit Suisse unless you need more evidence.”

Charlotte looked at the laptop in distaste.“I need a copy of that for my lawyer.” 

“Of course,” said Robin as she closed the video, removed the USB stick and handed it to her client.“We will keep the original until your lawyer tells us it is no longer necessary, then we will destroy it.”Robin then handed Charlotte the final invoice she’d prepared in case she was satisfied with the video.Charlotte took it without comment, looked it over, then pulled a checkbook and an ink pen out of her fabulous purse and wrote Robin a check.

Charlotte put her pen and checkbook away, looking Robin over carefully one more time.“Your eyes?” she asked. 

“Colored contact lenses.” Robin answered. 

Charlotte nodded, rose and left the office without another word. 

Robin didn’t hear from her again for several months, then one rainy Wednesday a messenger arrived with a box for her.Robin, with Strike hovering in worry, opened the box to find a copy of Charlotte’s divorce decree on top of something wrapped in tissue paper.Robin handed Strike the legal document and lifted back the first layer of wrapping to find a vintage dark brown alligator Kelly bag from Hermes nested in the protective tissue. 

Opening the bag, she found a note tucked into the pocket, hand written on monogrammed notepaper that read:“From one formidable female to another.”It was signed CC.

Postscript:

After I wrote this, I started to worry that the implications of Charlotte’s gift to Robin weren’t really clear.This is a loaded present. 

Charlotte gave Robin one of Hermes’ Kelly purses, which are much cheaper than their larger and newer style Birkin bag which Charlotte herself carries.The Kelly is the sort of thing a debutante like Charlotte might have been given by her parents for her come-out.The Birkin is at least ten times more expensive, although vintage bags of either style cost nearly as much as a new one.The Birkin Charlotte is carrying is more likely a present from her rich husband or a wealthy lover. 

Regardless, it is a nod to someone Charlotte now sees as, not exactly an equal, but as a worthy opponent in the battle for Strike.It’s also something that Robin might find very useful in passing undercover as upper class in the future.Charlotte recognizes the skill Robin showed in proving her ex was cheating, and is providing something that might be useful to Robin in return, but like all Charlotte presents, this is a double-edged sword.If Charlotte gave Robin one of her old purses, it could be one that she used when she and Strike were together.He might recognize it, so if Robin carried it, it would be a reminder to him of his time with Charlotte.Of course, Robin being practical Robin, she may well sell her present and plow the money back into the business.

Something that requires this much explanation isn’t good writing but I can’t come up with a better way to convey what I want without explaining these luxury items.Sorry!


End file.
